The present invention relates to methods of stabilizing proteins in acidic pH environments and related compositions. In a particular embodiment of the present invention, long term protein stability in acidic pH environments is achieved by promoting chemical reaction between proteins and galactomannan.
The health conscious public is hungry for nutritional foods and beverages that have the refreshing flavors of fruit juice and high protein content, preferably with little or no fat. At the same time the public has little tolerance for curds which inherently form when unmodified forms of protein are introduced directly into an acidic medium, for example, when milk is mixed with orange juice. Although the result is not harmful, it is unappealing. Consequently, the food and beverage industries have searched for methods of stabilizing proteins in acid environments in order to prevent proteins from curdling and precipitating out of acidic beverages.
To date, the food and beverage industries have met with limited success in this endeavor. Through the use of gums and other stabilizers, methods have been developed to suspend proteins in acidic media. However, the association between stabilizers and proteins in such suspensions is merely mechanical in nature. Consequently, the proteins precipitate out of the acidic medium over relatively short periods of time when subjected to conventional storage conditions for such compositions. Moreover, these suspensions exhibit this temporary stability only within a narrow acid pH range.
Accordingly, a need exists for methods of producing acidified-protein compositions that exhibit long-term stability. The processes and compositions of the present invention meet these needs and provide related advantages as well.